Respect Her

This month marks the release of the third major label album from Russian-born singer-songwriter Regina Spektor. Far is the follow-up to 2006's Begin to Hope.

Spektor was born in the Soviet Union, but emigrated to the US in 1989 with her parents, who were also musicians. She thought she would never play piano again, then she was allowed to play in her synagogue until eventually one was donated to her family. She knew that she wanted to be a songwriter when she was 16. At an arts camp in Israel, she started singing improvised songs for other campers, and they encouraged her to write and perform her own material. She got a break when she played her song "Poor Little Rich Boy" for Strokes producer Gordon Raphael, playing piano with one hand and drumming on the bench with the other. Her song "Fidelity" from Begin to Hope was voted "Song of the Year" by listeners of the satellite radio station Left Of Center. Her current producer, David Kahne, says of Begin to Hope, "They (her record company) wanted something they could be proud of...", meaning a career artist and not just another easily forgotten single.

So Far, her fifth album overall, doesn't stray to far from what her fans have come to love, artistic and melodic piano rock combined with quirky songwriting and storytelling. The lead single, "Laughing With", is a rumination on God and religion that lets you feel like she has some strong opinions about God, but you're never really sure what they are. The next is "Folding Chair", which is a great bouncy summer song in which she claims to have a perfect body because "her eyelashes catch the sweat," and imitating a "dolphin song" in the bridge. One example of her storytelling is "Wallet," which clocks in at just 2:25 and is about solving the mystery of a found wallet. Perhaps the best song on the record is "Dance Anthem of the 80's" which uses piano chords to simulate the electronic string chords of 80's style new wave dance music. Overall, this is a good Regina record, well paced and fun. It should only enhance her reputation among the indie-bohemian crowd and the mainstream alike.